Holly council discusses outsourcing dispatch services to Oakland County

By AMY MAYHEW

Friday, May 3, 2013

HOLLY -- The Holly Village Council is considering outsourcing police, fire and EMS dispatch services to the Oakland County Sheriff's Office and what that would entail.

The council is considering the option as a way of tightening the 2013-14 fiscal year budget by $80,000 to $150,000 per year.

Village voters approved a three-year, 2-mill special assessment in 2006 to improve police services -- specifically by upgrading the department's dispatch technology, and overhauling the village's E911 Communications Center.

Since the millage's expiration in 2010, the village of Holly has struggled to pay the more than $300,000 per year to keep its dispatch center properly staffed, trained and technologically-equipped.

On Tuesday, the Chief of Sheriff's Communications, Mel Maier, delivered an hour-long presentation to council members, hitting the highlights on Oakland County's state-of-the-art dispatch center and identifying a myriad of state-mandated training, equipment and certification standards that are causing an increasing number of cities, villages and townships to rely on Oakland County for its dispatch services.

Staffed with 57 employees, Maier said the Oakland County Sheriff's Office Central Dispatch Center serves 23 villages and townships including Holly and Rose townships for fire and EMS dispatch services, and Springfield Township for law enforcement, fire and EMS dispatch services.

With dispatchers trained in Emergency Medical Dispatch, Emergency Fire Dispatch, and Emergency Police Dispatch, Maier said the protocols used for each ensure that every call taker performs the same process no matter the time of the day.

"It is a standard way of call taking within the communication center by asking questions that pertain to the issues while absolutely ensuring the safety of the caller and/or responding officers, fire or EMS personnel," Maier said. "Oakland County Sheriff Central Dispatch is the first agency in Michigan to perform all three priority dispatch protocols.

"We're currently in the accreditation process, and we're very proud of that."

Maier said Central Dispatch continues to use the Positron VIPER Automatic Call Distribution system, a system in which all calls are automatically prioritized and efficiently sent to the proper call taker.

Additionally, Maier said Central Dispatch is working on becoming Michigan's first text-to-911 answering center.

Maier said the Dispatch Center boasts a 90-second dispatch time for structure fires --16 seconds less than the national standard. Medical dispatch times range from 59 seconds for the most serious of calls to 96 seconds for non-emergencies. While all types of police dispatch calls are taken in less than 2 minutes and 40 seconds, breaking and entering calls are dispatched within 45 seconds, robbery alarms within 1 minute and 20 seconds, and traffic crashes, 1 minute and 30 seconds.

Holly's acting police chief, Mike Story, said the village of Holly's average dispatch time is 1.165 minutes, and that it averages a time of 6.7 minutes from the time the call is taken to the time emergency personnel arrive on the scene.

While members of council haven't made any formal decisions yet, they are currently considering outsourcing the daily 7 p.m. until 7 a.m. shift to Oakland County, a move that would save the village approximately $43,000 per year. By eliminating the village's dispatch center all together, the village would save approximately $103,000 per year.

Should council elect to completely outsource dispatch services to Oakland County on a 24/7-basis, Maier said the county would be interested in buying at least some of the village's existing dispatch equipment. With a salary range of $33,233 to $47,288, plus a comprehensive benefit package, Maier said Oakland County would also be interested in hiring several of the village's displaced dispatchers.

"It is to our advantage to have the knowledge and experience of the Holly Police Department dispatchers," he said.

The cost reductions in transitioning to Oakland County are realized, Maier said, with the elimination of overtime costs, the elimination of 911 equipment maintenance and technology upgrades, and training costs -- something Oakland County says comes at a cost of $50,000 per year.

Village Councilman Ryan Bladzik asked what the projected costs would be for the constant need for technological upgrades to the village's dispatch center equipment.

While Village Manager Jerry Walker couldn't give any solid projected costs, he reiterated Maier's comments about the importance of staying on the cutting edge of technology.

"While the county is going to be the first text to 911 dispatch center, you can rest assured -- because it's used by so many people -- that it's going to be a requirement for all (dispatch centers)," he said.